Henry V is presented as a strong and capable King. Is this an accurate description of Shakespeare's Henry V?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Henry V is presented as a strong and capable King. Is this an accurate description of Shakespeare's Henry V? Henry V, the son of Henry IV, received the crown after his father's death in 1413. Before Henry received the crown he had a very wild youth, he was outgoing and naturally strong, he liked drinking and parties and got himself quite a bad reputation. People began to criticise Henry when he became Prince of Wales in 1399, because of his gambling ways and the way he took advantage of being Prince and also people said he would never make a good king. But their opinions changed and so did Henry when he became King of England. In the play, Henry V shows himself to be a king who is both fool hardy and domineering. He ignores problems within his own country in order to expand his empire and thus his wealth in France. He was a man who took extreme risks and was fortunate that these risks did not bring his downfall and disaster to England. He may be seen as a common man. Fool hardy and impetuous as a youth, he appears to have been unable to cast-off these dubious personality traits. It is more appropriate to describe Henry V as more suited to be a soldier than to be a king. In battle he is valiant, his motivational skills to rallying his men to fight the French, against remarkable odds, are an inspiration to any military man. ...read more.

Middle

The whole matter could have easily been dealt by Exeter, but once again Henry is shown to be almost foolhardy in taking the matter into his own hands. Henry can also be seen as calculating and cold. In act III, Henry shows his capabilities as a military commander. He is aware that war is cruel and that in battle it is necessary to, "imitate the action of the tiger." Henry warns the governor of, Harfleur, of the dangers that will follow if the town is seized by force. Henry fears that the soldiers will no longer be under his control. It is clear therefore that even as a general Henry has weaknesses and fears that his men are not truly as well disciplined as they should be. Henry also commits two acts that appear to be inconsistent with good judgment as King. First he informs Exeter to, "Use mercy to them all." This is an extremely dangerous decision; by not punishing them Henry may leave himself open to attack by these very people. Henry also prevents his troops from robbing and attacking the French from his journey to Agincourt, in doing this he shows considerable compassion, in act III scene VI "...in our marches through the country, there be nothing compelled from the villages, nothing taken but paid for, none of the French upbraided or abused in disdainful language; for when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentle gamester is the soonest winner." ...read more.

Conclusion

British losses we are expected to believe four titled men and, "of all other men but five and twenty." It seems that Shakespeare was inferring that the battle was comic and its outcome even more comic. Such a victory shows that either the French incompetent and unbelievably stupid or the British were nearly invincible. Finally in the epilogue, Shakespeare through the chorus reminds us that the succeeding king, "Lost France and made his England bleed..." line 12, epilogue. This shows the futility of the acts of Henry V. Because he won in France, the British may see Henry V as a hero. This victory should also be viewed against the motivations in going to war. Henry's naivety and inability to make decisions is shown when he approached Canterbury on the merits of his claim to the French throne. A strong and decisive leader would not require the help of men who obviously would have a vested interest in the outcome. As a youth, Henry was hot-headed and strong willed. The decision to invade France in order to further his claim shows that he has changed little. The act of placing British into a battle, where they were outnumbered five to one, is an appalling fact. Henry's poor judgment and his failure to settle problems within England are unforgettable. In short, the British should be appalled by such a king, there is little doubt his impetuosity could very well have caused even greater problems to Britain. Becca Moss ...read more.

Related AS and A Level British History: Monarchy & Politics essays

"Called and choice - drawn cavaliers", here the prologue describes the soldiers as being specially picked gallant young men. Strength and power are also represented in the prologue: "pith/puissance". By speaking of his men in this way, Shakespeare is portraying Henry as being self-assured and confident in himself as a king and his men.

His consistency and loyalty to the battle again show his dedication to his own nation as well as its causes as he declares that he "would not wish himself anywhere but where he is", thus revealing wholehearted support for the battle.

"The Strawberry grows underneath the nettle", this is a metaphor for Henry's younger "wilder" days and the fact that Henry always had great leadership skills but they only blossomed when he was crowned king. Henry is also viewed as a very religious king.

However, Margaret the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV, had supported Yorkists in the recent civil war and so was only willing to provide 2,000 mercenaries to Simnel's cause. Fortunately for Henry was lacking in any other support and so beat the rebels at the Battle of Stoke in 1487.

The chorus eloquently suggests that Henry is 'the star of England' and 'the mirror of all Christian kings'. Are they correct in their assumption: is Henry a great king, or does William Shakespeare merely include this as a biased opinion to enforce onto the audience, so as to prosper the basis of patriotism already built earlier?

Two of Henry's church officials, Canterbury and Ely, confer about, in private, a situation that includes the king. In doing that they also discuss Henry's character and his past, before he became king. According to these to bishops, he was a wild young man known as the madcap prince.

Riems however remained loyal to the League and so Henry was crowned on the 27th of February 1594 in Chartres. His conversion to Catholicism removed all legitimate pretexts for resistance to Henry becoming King, and on March 22nd Henry entered Paris, famously saying " Paris is well worth a Mass!"

in the public eye (Hutchinson 2005, pg 13), his whole physical appearance changed with his waist increasing by 19 inches from 1520 (Starkey 2002, pg100). Although Henry became an individual uneasy on the eye he still managed to have three more wives in 1540 to 1547.